Adjustable presser bar



1957 I I E. A. FLATTMANN 3,338,197

ADJUSTABLE FRESSER BAR Filed June 27, 1966 INVENTOR. EL W000 J4. FLnT /WQMA/ 227M w/QAAM United States Patent ()fifice 3,338,197 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338,197 ADJUSTABLE PRESSER BAR Elwood A. Flattmann, Riverside, Califi, assiguor to Walter Paul Leasing Co., Inc, Riverside, Calif, a corporation of California Filed June 27, 1966, Ser. No. 560,433 3 Claims. (Cl. 112-235) This invention has to do generally with sewing machines and particularly with presser bars of the type used o industrial sewing machines.

Industrial sewing machines, particularly those used to overedge material, employ a horizontally disposed presser bar upon which the presser foot is supported. Conventional presser bars are a source of considerable trouble and require constant maintenance in a plant because of the necessity of realigning the bars by means of shims and the like at the start of each working day and often during the day because of the susceptibility of the bars to temperature changes which throw the presser foot out of proper position.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved presser bar which can be readily mounted on standard industrial machines in the conventional manner but which is so constructed that it can be adjusted of itself without affecting the mounting thereof in order to adjust the position of the presser foot carried by the bar.

Another object is to provide such an adjustable presser bar which can be adjusted both rotatively and toward and away from the point where the bar is mounted on the machine. In this connection it is a further object to provide such a presser bar which can be adjusted to cause the presser foot to feed or guide the material either to the right or to the left or straight, as desired.

A further object is to provide a simple, readily manufactored, inexpensive, easily installed device.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and the following description. Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric View, largely diagrammatic, of an industrial sewing machine upon which the presser bar of the invention is shown mounted;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the presser bar shown installed;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device;

FIG. 4 is a cross section on line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

More particularly describing the invention, in FIG. 1 I show a portion of an industrial sewing machine 11 of the type adapted to provide an overedging of material such as by means of a chain stitch. The head of the machine is generally designated by numeral 12 and the sewing or work surface by 13. The machine is provided with a mounting surface or portion 14 upon which the presser bar 15 of the invention is firmly attached by a screw 16.

The device itself is made up of two main parts, namely, a first member 17 and a second member 18 which are telescopically and rotatively associated but normally secured against relative movement. The first member has a main body 20 that is provided at one end with a tongue or flat extension 21 having a slot 22 therein for the reception of the mounting screw 16. The body is formed at its other end and main portion to provide a cylindrical socket 24 which extends inwardly from the end and longitudinally of the bar. The main body is generally rectangular in cross section, although this particular shape is not material, and is longitudinally slotted at 25 from the socket outwardly. Two laterally extending sections 26 are provided on the body and these are also interrupted by the aforementioned slot 25. Screws 27 bridge the slot, being threadedly received in threaded bores 28.

The second member comprises a body 30 formed at one end with a cylindrical shank 31 that is slidably and rotatively received within the socket 24 of the first member and which can be secured therein against movement relative thereto by the screws 27, when tightened. The body 30 includes a midportion 32 and beyond this a flat rectangular section 33 against which a conventional presser foot 35 is attached, as by a rivet 36.

It will be apparent that with the construction described, an infinite adjustment of the presser foot can be achieved with the presser bar rigidly mounted on the machine, since the member 18 can be rotated and telescoped relative to member 17 with the screws 27 loosened. Upon tightening the screws, the two main parts of the device are fixedly held together.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred form of my invention, I contemplate that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable presser bar for attachment to a sewing machine of the type in which the bar is disposed substantially parallel to the sewing work surface, comprising a first member adapted at one end to be mounted on the sewing machine and having a socket at its other end, said member being slotted longitudinally of the socket from the interior of the socket to the exterior of the member, a second member having an end portion received in said socket of the first member, said socket and said end portion of said second member received therein being so shaped and sized that said end portion is rotatable and axially slideable in said socket, and means securing said first and second members against relative movement including at least one screw bridging the slot in said first member, said second member having a mounting surface against which to position and secure a presser foot.

2. An adjustable presser bar for attachment to a sewing machine of the type in which the bar is disposed substantially parallel to the sewing work surface, comprising a first member adapted at one end to be mounted on the sewing machine and havi g a cylindrical socket extending inwardly from its other end, said member having a longitudinal slot along the socket outwardly through its outer edge, at least one screw threadedly mounted in said member and extending across the slot whereby to contract said socket, and a second member provided with a cylindrical shank at one end received in said socket, said second member including an apertured mounting surface at its other end against which to secure a presser foot.

3. The adjustable presser bar set forth in claim 2 in which said first member is formed with a pair of laterally projecting portions through which said slot extends, and in which screws are provided in said laterally projecting portions bridging said slot and threadedly received on one side of the slot and bearing against the outside of the portions on the other side of the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,567 9/1955 Hess 1l2235 2,770,206 11/1956 Baehr et a1 112235 3,170,426 2/1965 Micale l12240 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE PRESSER BAR FOR ATTACHMENT TO A SEWING MACHINE OF THE TYPE IN WHICH THE BAR IS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE SEWING WORK SURFACE, COMPRISING A FIRST MEMBER ADAPTED AT ONE END TO BE MOUNTED ON THE SEWING MACHINE AND HAVING A SOCKET AT ITS OTHER END, SAID MEMBER BEING SLOTTED LONGITUDINALLY OF THE SOCKET FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE SOCKET TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE MEMBER, A SECOND MEMBER HAVING AN END PORTION RECEIVED IN SAID SOCKET OF THE FIRST MEMBER, SAID SOCKET AND SAID END PORTION OF SAID SECOND MEMBER RECEIVED THEREIN BEING SO SHAPED AND SIZED THAT SAID END PORTION IS ROTATABLE AND AXIALLY SLIDEABLE IN SAID SOCKET, AND MEANS 